Say Goodbye To The Last Big Piece Of The Old Bay Bridge Next Week

The old, 1930s-era trusses of the former eastern span of the Bay Bridge are disappearing for good next week, finally. The work to lower the final major piece of the old span and haul it over to the Port of Oakland is set to take place Wednesday, August 10, though that might change due to weather, as the Chronicle reports.

The last of the five truss spans to go weighs some 3.2 million pounds, and as John King explains:

If you want a hint of how the latest act of deconstruction will take place, check out the four enormous green metal “wheels” that adorn the corners of the truss. They contain spool-like contraptions wrapped in cables: The cables will lift the horizontal truss from its 60-year-old supports, swing it to the side and pivot it out to be lowered onto a pair of barges waiting below.

The first of the trusses came down in February, and they've been slowly disappearing, one by one, ever since. Learn more, as narrated by King, in the video above.